Venezuela Seeks to Prove It Has World's Largest Oil Reserves

[NNN0LHI]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBUWZ76HAE.html

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez believes his oil-rich Venezuela has the largest reserves in the world - and he plans to prove it.
In recent months, Chavez has repeatedly boasted that Venezuela's estimated 78 billion barrels in conventional reserves, coupled with an estimated 238 billion barrels of tar oil in the nation's so-called Orinoco Belt, "are the largest petroleum reserves in the world."

By comparison, Saudi officials say Saudi Arabia has proven reserves of 261 billion barrels of crude.

According to a statement released Sunday by the state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., or PDVSA, Venezuela's proven oil reserves have been underestimated because reserves from the Orinoco Belt were not included in previous studies calculating all the nation's oil reserves.

I don't know if you want to do that Hugo?

[Goldmund]

1. That's like boasting that you have the sweetest blood...

...in a bay full of sharks.

[Seabiscuit]

12. ... in a hemisphere full of vampires. LOL!

[niceypoo]

30. Uh oh! I bet this means they have WMD!

Better invade and 'save them' before they attack Amer'ka with them there mushroom cloud bombs!!!

[Seabiscuit]

36. Chavez has 238 billion barrels of weapons grade tar oil!

And it emits sarin gas! We must invade now! Trot out the freedom fries!

[Gregorian]

2. Get thee to the top of the democratizin' list.

No democracy is good enough, when you've got oil. There's always room for improvement. Bush style, that is...

[KamaAina]

3. Ooh this could get good

One of the world's largest economies has recently struck a deal with Canada to exploit its unconventional oil reserves in the form of tar sands.

This selfsame economic power is also moving toward fuel cell technology for automobiles.

Needless to say it is not the USA but China.

Stay tuned, and pass the popcorn... :popcorn:

edit: speling

[StClone]

6. China also inked a deal with Venezuela

China, Venezuela sign energy deal

Friday 24 December 2004, 10:39 Makka Time, 7:39 GMT

Chavez is seeking to lower the dependence on the US market


Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has offered China wide access to his country's vast energy resources, including oilfields and the possibility of increased direct crude supplies.


http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3B9011F5-5889-4153-984E-7B39AE0FA877.htm

[Shakespeare]

4. In related news, Venezuela paints a large red target sign on itself...

...and urges the Bush administration to "Come an' get it!"

You KNOW the bushies are trying to find a good excuse to invade Venezuela. :-(

[NashVegas]

5. It's a Bit Like Blind Man's Bluff

Ain't it? Iran here, Syria there, and Hugo down there.

[Deja Q]

7. Hugo down there?

Did he vomit or burst out laughing when he saw the size of *'s wingdangdoodle?!

[mom cat]

23. And don't forget North Korea.

[movonne]

9. I think it looks that way, but I have to think that this man is no dummy,

I think he must feel pretty secure..

[BrotherBuzz]

33. Secure in that he controls one huge oil spigot that we need to suck on...

Hmmm, I'm convinced Chavez is playing a masterful game of chess while Bush* insists on cheating at checkers. King me!

[rman]

52. The bushies ALREADY are trying to find a good excuse to invade

Venezuela.

The more people are aware of why, the more eyes are watching, the harder it becomes for Bush to find an acceptable reason to invade. For one, it is less likely he'll be able to get away with "it's not about the oil".

[Minstrel Boy]

8. Part of a trend to report tar sands as "proven reserves."

Canada did that for the first time in 2003, adding 180 billion barrels to its reserves. That makes us, on paper, number two in the world.

"On paper" is what tar sands is all about.

[pilgrimsoul]

11. Maybe Chavez is doing this

to alert the masses to Peak Oil and get the world to understand that it needs to focus on developing alternative fuels. Maybe he's a decent guy trying to do the right thing for the whole world and not just his little corner of it.

Why can't America have a president like that? <sigh>

[Patty Diana]

26. Maybe be's asking for China's help to protect both the Oil and himself

[megatherium]

19. My impression is that one million barrels a day of tar sand oil

is already being produced in Alberta. Not a trivial amount, measured against the 9 million barrels per day of oil that Saudi Arabia produces.

[Minstrel Boy]

35. True. But when you consider the amount of energy expended

to retrieve it - heavy equipment to expose and mine the tar sands, and vast amounts of natural gas and fresh water to separate it - it's very costly.

[mom cat]

24. I guess that Rummy will have to invade you next! So much for my plan

to emigrate.:sarcasm:

[The Doctor.]

10. Breaking: "Osama bin Laden spotted in Venezuelan coffe shop!" nt

[Massacure]

13. Tar oil is not easy to extract.

What oil you do get is usually very heavy.

[NickB79]

14. And you need a lot of natural gas to "cook" the oil out

Most areas of the world are peaking on natural gas extraction as well as conventional oil extraction. So the question becomes where do you get the energy to extract the tar oils?

[Say_What]

18. Bolivia?

has the 2nd largest gas reserves in LatAm and it's all in the ground because the Indians want it nationalized and the government wants it privatized for the oligrachs.


http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2005/6/15/16355/7224

[megatherium]

20. There's talk of using nuclear power to do this. nt

[Seabiscuit]

15. What is tar oil and why would Chavez add it to his reserves numbers?

[PeaceProgProsp]

17. soon it's going to be the only oil left to extract.

[Seabiscuit]

37. OK, but what exactly is it and why is it called "tar oil"?

IOW, how is it different from "crude oil"?

[Massacure]

40. It is very heavy and thick, with a consistency similar to molasses.

It has to either be mined, which is expensive, energy intensive, and ecologically destructive. Or, large amounts of steam have to be pumped down to force it to the surface, which is expensive and energy intensive. Both processes require a lot of energy input. Then when the oil is recovered, it has to be refined. Refineries don't have a problem with heavy the oil is if they can find someone willing to buy the heavy oil for plastics or asphalt. However, refining it to form gasoline requires that it be broken down into smaller hydrocarbons via a process known as 'cracking', which is basically adding heat. Unfortunately the shortage of oil lately is a shortage of light crude.

[liberalmike27]

54. Well,

If I may point out, after spending nearly 800 Billion in Iraq in the last couple of years, tar-oil doesn't appear that expensive, and neither does Hyrdogen technology.

This war is in essence just another form of corporate welfare. We should never elect oil, or defense involved people again, they are the absolutely most corrupt. Think Johnson, and Bush. It doesn't matter what party, except in the very significant way of what Social policies get done during the war while Americans are shell-shocked by the death and destruction.

[blindpig]

16. I hope this is just gamesmanship

Tar oil is an environmental nightmare. I'd hate to see the llanos with all of the endemic species there turned into a toxic garbage pit. We've got to find a better way to do things.

I hope Hugo does the right thing. Balancing the immediate needs of the people with the long term responsibities to the people and the environment is tricky business, particularly in a world of inequality and shrinking possibilities.

[wallwriter]

25. As Kim Jong Il has proven,

even a crazy weirdo madman can outsmart GWB and his cronies. Rather a dangerous game, though. I think the way to stay safe is *not* to have any oil.

[LanternWaste]

21. Venezoola... Venzwylian... Venezualian Terrarists.

Well... if it turns out to be true, then I suppose Buch&Co. will be telling us about "Venezoola...Venzwylian...Venezualian Terrarists and we have to do something NOW because they have WMD..., um, I mean they have torture camps, err..now let me Finish..a bad guy in charge!"

[Supersedeas]

22. if Hugo got friendly with China and Europe--what would the Cowboy Frat Guy

in Chief do?

[oblivious]

28. He's very friendly with China, Cuba and Iran.

And there's not a damn thing * can do about it.

The only power the US has any more is to bomb, but that isn't really an option in Venezuela, since the US couldn't stand the temporary loss of 15% of its oil supply.

The US is in a terrible situation. It's made enemies of so many countries it needs for economic survival.

[NNN0LHI]

32. He seems to get along with this guy pretty well too

[Judi Lynn]

38. Now that's interesting!They're talking about The Thing in the White House.

First time I've seen them in the same photo! Thanksalot.

[oblivious]

41. And then there's his budding relationship with India.

India, Venezuela sign oil exploration agreement
5 March 2005

Chavez told India's top industrialists on Friday that he was looking for new markets for his country's oil because Venezuela's biggest customer, the United States, was destablising his government.

"Did you know that for more than 100 years we never sold our oil to countries like Argentina, Cuba or Brazil - only the US? But now we are diversifying."

"We are selling to our Latin American brothers, we are selling to China and we would like a long-term relationship with India," Chavez said.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2005/March/subcontinent_March136.xml§ion=subcontinent

AFP: India takes stake in Venezuela oilfield
05 March 2005
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/158A42BD-B8C8-484C-80EE-C6040BF23D2C.htm

[NNN0LHI]

42. Yea, Hugo appears to be everywhere

[shadowknows69]

27. I think the rest of the world

may be about to play economic checkmate on our asses.

[rexcat]

29. If I were the leader of Venezuela...

I would not want the USA to know this for Bush* and company might want to invade them. Of course I think this country is already on Bush's* list of evildoer countries.

[dasmarian]

31. Venezuela will become a part of the BRIC alliance

This is the next world superpower, and it will be powered by Venezuela.

Article

[oddtext]

34. seems to confirm "peak oil"

in a sense. "tar oil" is undesirable unless and until "sweet" is scarce. seems maybe HC thinks we're getting tad scarce on the light sweet crude.

[UTUSN]

39. What Is This- an Invitation to Invade One's Inalienable Sovereinty? n/t

[4MoreYearsOfHell]

43. Venezuela has largest oil reserves, says Chavez

Looks like we "freedomed" the wrong country after all...

<snip>

President Hugo Chavez says Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world and he plans to show the world that Venezuela's proven oil reserves have been underestimated and that they easily outweigh previously proven oil deposits in the Middle East.

Chavez says that Venezuela's estimated 78 billion barrels together with with an estimated 238 billion barrels of tar oil in the Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt make it "the largest petroleum reserves in the world."

Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) says Venezuela's proven oil reserves have been underestimated since the reserves in the Orinoco Belt have not previously been included in studies calculating all the nation's oil reserves.

The eastern Orinoco heavy crude has been marketed by previous governments as a substitute boiler fuel (Orimulsion) and that it was not included in conventional oil reserve calculations since it was originally designed and patented to compete with coal. It was for that reason alone that it was not taken up under established Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production quotas.

http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=3273

[shoelace414]

44. Does he have WMD's?

[Skidmore]

45. We tried to "freedom" Venezuela and it didn't work, remember?

[Oversea Visitor]

46. Doh

He is inviting trouble hey.

[ZR2]

47. I'm startin to think Chavez

Just likes to see his name in the news....

[habitual]

48. He is purposely trying to provoke US

He knows that is all we want, and we do anything to get it. He is so angry at the US he wants to rub it in OilBoy Bush's face that he has the most and THEY CONTROL IT not the US. That, I'm sure, makes Bush very, very angry.

[1932]

49. Chavez probably said this to keep the price of oil from going crazy.

Yesterday the price shot up because of concerns about supplies. Chavez might have done this to keep the price from shooting up and hurting developing economies.

[ZR2]

50. ROTFLMMFAO

That has to be the funniest thing I've read on here in months...

[1932]

51. Then you're tipping your hand.

Rafael Ramirez:  Yes, there is a discussion which is not new within OPEC, which has to do with the use of which reference currency for OPEC’s own commercial transactions and consequently of the speculative market derivatives, which are greater even than the volumes that OPEC handles. Also, there is a discussion, at the moment, that is on the table due to the strong devaluation the dollar has had with regard to the Euro. So there is a discussion, but it is a discussion that we are looking at with care due to its implications. For example, this gives us an adjustment of the price band {in which oil is traded}, in proportion to the devaluation that the dollar has undergone. We would thus have a price band that would oscillate between $29 and $38 dollars per barrel, which would also mean an impact on the economy – something that would not agree with us. It is necessary to maintain a balance that allows the defense of our price, but which also allows that economic growth takes place which increases demand. Then there is an aspect that we are discussing, a proposal: probably the most balanced option would be to have a basket in order to maintain a balance between the dollar and the euro for the commercialization of oil. But this is a discussion that is in the midst of development, as you usually say, and there is no firm position of the ministers about it.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1087

Venezuela said they were worried about how prices before oil was reaching record highs. I'm not surprised they said they had big supplies at the same time oil was reaching the $60s. High prices will kill demand and ruin developing economies. The same thing happened in the early 70s. Jamaica's economic problems today are due to the fact that they had to borrow money from the IMF to buy shit after oil prices skyrocketed in '72 and '73).

[NickB79]

55. It actually makes sense

Higher oil prices will eventually push the world into a global recession, if not full-on depression. At that point oil demand will plummet, and OPEC nations would suffer greatly from lack of oil revenue.

[geek tragedy]

53. In related news, George W. Bush was seen trying to hold Chavez's hand.

Chavez demurred, mentioning something about "milking a horse."

[K-W]

56. I think I just figured this out.

The US has systematically shielded accurate oil information about South America as part of our sphere of influence policies. We dont want international attention drawn to the oil in what we consider our backyard.

Now Chavez is breaking out of that sphere. He wants to publicize his oil because the more nations get interested in his oil the more attention will be brought on him and the more relationships he will develop. He knows that the only possible way to stop the US from eventually coming in and roughing venezuala up is to appeal to other power centers in the world to put barriers in the path of the US.